Peculiar Plantlife - LomoChrome Purple 100-400

If you’ve ever thought about making lo-fi film photos, you’ve definitely come across LomoChrome Purple. This film imitates the color palate of Kodak Aerochrome III, a discontinued infrared film whose signature green-to-purple shift was used for military surveillance before a short burst of popularity within ‘60s psychedelia. Though it sells out almost as soon as the newest batch is ready, I was able to snag a couple rolls last November. After waiting months for the “perfect day,” I just ended up throwing it into my camera and took it around the neighborhood for a week, shooting anything colorful or strange.

This is one of my mom’s hollyhocks. Small details such as textures in the petals, veins in the leaves, and even trichomes, dust and pollen really stood out with LomoChrome Purple. There were quite a few bugs hard at work on the flowers. I shooed off the beetles and waited for a bee to land on the bottom flower. I waited for it to crawl away from the shadow cast by the plant's leaves. It flew off the moment I took the photo and at 1/250, I knew the shutter speed would be too slow to freeze it in place. Though I wanted it completely still, I actually prefer the energy it brings to an otherwise motionless shot.

Red is the one color that doesn't radically change with Lomochrome Purple. I kept an eye out for anything naturally red, such as wild raspberries, strawberries and others that happened to be in season. Imagine my excitement when I saw these eastern tent caterpillars wriggling around the nest they’d built on top of a winterberry bush. A perfectly alien scene!

I love the criss-crossing patterns the leaves of these gooseneck loosestrife make. These white flowers have such a funky and unusual shape fit for this film.

What's going on with this picture? The highlights are blown out, the shadows are crushed and grainy, and nothing looks in focus. All signs point to a bad photo, but I love how the setting sun peeks around the edges of the center tree as well as the shadow it casts. The purple is present, but it doesn’t overwhelm the entire image. The photo strikes a gloomy mood in me. I was in the right place at the right time.

For months, this tire swing sat half-submerged in a pond. Someone took it and hung it over this patch of ferns about an inches from the ground. I'm certainly too heavy for it, but I'm sure the kids enjoy it. I wonder if I should have photographed more of the rope, but I think my framing helps it feel as out of place as it is.

LomoChrome Purple is not a film for every day use, but a good option for changing things up. I don’t think these photos are perfect, but they are interesting- at least to me. While I’d love to hunt down and shoot a roll of Aerochrome, LomoChrome Purple offers the color shifts I want without the need of filters or special focussing compensation required by infrared film.

This film stock has given me some ideas for more conceptual photography, which I hope to shoot in the next year or two. In the meantime, is there any word of Lomography bringing back LomoChrome Turquoise? That stuff is even wilder!

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Film was hand-processed normally at standard color negative times and temperatures using the liquid Cinestill Cs41 kit. The swampy green negatives were quite the surprise when I pulled them out of the developing tank!